Euromaidan and the Ukrainian Political Crisis: Background and Prospects

Abstract

Euromaidan is the name given to a series of demonstrations that began at the end of 2013 in Ukraine, when former President Victor Yanukovych declared the suspension of the signing of the Agreement about the Association with the European Union. As a result, thousands of people started to protest on the streets of Kiev to show their disagreement with the decision of the government. Thus, Euromaidan, which began as a social movement, ended up causing a confrontation between citizens and the Ukrainian government, which led to the military conflict with Russia in Eastern Ukraine. This situation marked the beginning of the current political crisis in the country. The article presents the broad historical context of the conflict, as well as the current chronology of the Ukrainian crisis, from November 2013 to May 2019. All the events of this Ukrainian crisis should be considered as a single process, as shown in the following sequence: Euromaidan, annexation of Crimea, active phase of military conflict in Donbass (until the signing of the Second Minsk Protocol in 2015), passive phase of the military conflict in Donbass, and militarization of the Black Sea. Finally, the conclusions and future prospects will be presented.